The Protesters Were Furious. They tugged on the Gate of the School where the Mother Said Her 7-Year-Old Daughter Had Been Raped. They ask that the school be closed, and threatened to burn it down.
Demonstrators in the Small Town of Matatiele, South Africa-Known for its pristine, litter-brother Streets-Have Been Furious Ever Sente Videos of the Mother, Thandekile Mshizana, Were posted online a Couple of Months Ago Describing Her Daughter’s Account of Being Assaulted at Bergview College.
The Clips Drew Millions of Views and Have Turned the Case of the Girl, Known Online by the Pseudonym CWECWE, Into the Latest Flashpoint in South Africa’s Long Battle Against Sexual Violence, Challenging A Culture of Shame and Silence. In Rural Communities like Matatiele, The Case of Cwecwe has touched a nerve.
“This time we say it cannot be business as usual,” Said Thapelo Monareng, A Retail Worker Who Time Off Time to wait for the Protest in Matatiele. “We are here to say Enough is Enough.”
The Police Have Said The Investigation is Ongoing and Extremely Sensitive. Tests Did not find Foreign DNA on the girl’s body or Clothes, According to present the police made to speak in April. The Results of A Doctor’s Original Examination Were Incclusive, The Police Said, Adding that they have no suspects.
An Average of 118 Rape Are reported Each Day in South Africa, According to Police Statistics for the Most Recent Year Available. One in Three South African Women Over 18 – or More Than Seven Million – Have Been Victim of Physical Violence at some point in their Lives, the statistics say. Women’s Rights Activists have long criticized What they see as a tepid responsible from the government. BETWEEN 2018 and 2023, more than 61.740 RAPE CASES AND 5.523 Sexual Assault Cases Were Closed without Being SOLVED.
“WE COME FROM AN ER ERA WHERE THE PANALTY FOR BEATING A GIRL AND SLEEPING WITH HER BY Force was a Goat and A Few Lashes at The Chief’s Court,” Said Thabang KUALI, A Traditional Leader in Matatie. While Those Days Are Now Largely Gone, MR. KUALI Said, He Hoped that CWECWE’s Case WOULD “Shift the Needle in How Men Think.”
“I SAW MEN MARCHING AGAINT RAPE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THIS CWECWE MATTER,” He Said.
Officials at Bergview Did not respond to comment. A Lawyer for the School’s main has been based on the timing of cwecwe’s injuries, he belied that she had been assaulted in the community, not at school.
MRS. Mshizana Said She was not concerned about the inconclusiveness of the investigation. “I will get Justice One Way or the other,” She Added.
The demonstrations culminated in March with a March to the Office of President Cyril Ramaphosa to Delive A Petition Demanding That He Declare Sexual Violence A National Disaster in South Africa.
The CWECWE CASE “Must Become A Catalyst For Systemic Change – Not Just Another Flicker of Attention that Fades Until the Next Tragedy,” Said Sabrina Walter, the Founder of Women for Change, The Organization that draft the little one.
Declaring a National Disaster Would Allow the Government to Quickly Fund Efforts to Tackle Gender-Based Violence, Ms. Walter Said. And it also would enable Better collaboration across government agencies, from Law Enforcement to Health and Social Services.
MRS. Mshizana Says She postponed Her Daughter’s Assault to the Police as Soon as Her Daughter Told Her It Happened in Octuber, but that story only received attention in March, when she posted about it on tiktok after months of Waiting for the police to make an arrest.
She say her daughter told her that a caretaker at the school had asked her to sweep a classroom. The Girl Recalled that While She was sweeping, She Smald What Seemed Like Burning Tires and then Fell Asleep, Said Mrs. Mshizana. Her Daughter Woke Up with Injuds But Did Not Know What Had Happened.
MRS. Mshizana, who is a police officer at a separate resort, Said that after Her Daughter Came Home from School with stomach breads and Blood Stains on her track pants, She Took Her to a Doctor, who examined Her and then Broke the horrific News that she had been raped.
“I CRIED,” Mrs. Mshizana Said in video shared on social media. “I cried because I am also a victim of rape. I Know How It Feels.”
MRS. Mshizana Said She had decided to go public becaus she felt that police investigation was dragging and that it had been difficult to get updates. Her mind drift to How She felt when she was raped at 20, She Said, and the Betrayal She felt by the Justice System in the aftermath.
“I Still Live With Those Scars,” She Said. “I Want Different for my Daughter.”
Before the Attack, Mrs. Mshizana Said, Her Daughter Had Been A Top Performing in Her First Grade Class. She Loved Being A Big Sister. Now, Her Daughter is reserved and sketches Broken Hearts, She Said.
“All i can do is fight for her.”
